Hundreds of schools shut as more snow forecast
Baku, November 29 (AZERTAC). Hundreds of schools have been shut in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the north-east of England and Cornwall, with ice and heavy snow causing travel chaos.
Durham Tees Valley airport remains closed, but Edinburgh airport has partially reopened.
There are warnings of dangerously icy roads in Wales and parts of Scotland and England, with more snow forecast.
About 3,000 homes in Scotland have no electricity, while thunder storms have also caused power cuts in Cornwall.
A Scottish and Southern Energy spokesman said the worst affected areas were around Tayside and Perth but he was confident "the vast majority" of homes would have power by the end of Monday.
The Local Government Association said councils had increased stockpiles of salt and grit but Aberdeenshire was rationing supplies of salt.
The council said it had used 12,000 tonnes of salt so far this year, compared with 3,500 tonnes during the same period in 2009, but it expected fresh supplies to arrive later this week.
More than 450 schools are closed in England, with Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, Cumbria, East Yorkshire and Shropshire particularly affected.
In Scotland, more than 800 schools are closed from Shetland to Edinburgh and the Lothians.
About 93 schools across Northern Ireland are closed because of the bad weather, while 10 schools are closed in Wales.
Hundreds of motorists were trapped in their cars in Scotland overnight and traffic was backed up for several miles on the A9 between Dunblane and Perth after several lorries jack-knifed.
Meanwhile in North Tyneside, a council spokesman said rubbish collections had been suspended so that refuse collection vehicle drivers and crews could help grit roads.
Other news in this section
